The History Boys (Touring) Cambridge Arts Theatre Review
In celebration of 20 years since first premiering at the National Theatre in London, Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents Alan Bennett’s The History Boys at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. Presented by a lively cast and featuring smooth choreography, Seán Linnen’s rendition of this modern classic manages to feel fresh and light on its feet despite the arguably dated source material.
The play follows eight teenage boys from Sheffield in their attempts to score places at Oxford university under the guidance of two polar opposite teachers, Irwin and Hector. The main theme of the show is the purpose of education. What is more important: to learn to pass an exam and gain a prestigious education, or to be well rounded critical thinking human beings? Many other themes are explored throughout the show: hope and failure, history and truth, sex and sexuality, and class and gender, the latter demonstrated and performed beautifully by the voice of reason Mrs Lintott (Gillian Bevan) in a rousing monologue on the place of women in history.
Irwin (Bill Milner) is hired by the micromanage-y and determined headmaster (Milo Twomey) to whip the boys into the shape of Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates by exposing them to thinking critically and presenting the alternative view of history in order to stand out in their admissions exams. Hector (an incredibly nuanced and sympathetic performance by Simon Rouse) takes the completely opposite view, filling the boys’ heads with “useless knowledge” in order to make them more cultured and well-rounded people. He says exams are the enemy of education. His relaxed approach to teaching also extends into his extra-curricular activity of groping the unlucky boys who accept a lift home on his motorbike. The attitudes of the characters towards Hector’s non-consensual dalliances with the boys is the only thing that really dates this play, however, there is still an interesting dichotomy between having a beloved teacher that is also a sex offender. No character is black and white, and each role is performed with grace and realism.
Set firmly in the 80s with a soundtrack to match, featuring tunes from such artists as Duran Duran, Tear for Fears, a stomp-a-long to Adam and the Ants’ Stand and Deliver and live piano accompaniments, music plays a huge part in breathing new life into the show. The set and costume designer, Grace Smart, does a fantastic job of recreating a school from the 1980s. The boys’ uniforms are the same and yet each are worn in ways that match the personalities and backgrounds of the individual characters. The set itself is simple and drab… and the perfect classroom setting. You can almost smell the asbestos. The real stars of the production are the set changes. Choreographer Chi-san Howard takes their time with the transitions from scene to scene, incorporating dancing, marching, and general roughhousing between the actors to blend the scenes together. This adds impact on two levels: making the, sometimes arduous, task of changing the set visually exciting, and adding more opportunities for the boys to insert fun character moments.
Speaking of the boys – what a cast! The actors have an infectious energy that is maintained from start to finish. Each student is well defined and distinct, providing a great range from serious and astute to goofy and flamboyant across the class. Dakin is the boisterous and confident golden boy (played by Archie Christoph-Allen in his professional debut, though you would never know it). Scripps is the religiously devout and curious boy (Yazdan Qafouri) who beautifully accompanies the singing on the piano. Rudge (Ned Costello) is refreshingly ordinary as the less academically talented boy of the class, who stays after class to make notes in order to keep on top of things. Timms is the class clown (Teddy Hinde), who makes the other boys sweat as Claudine in the French maison de passe in a hilarious farcical ensemble enactment during one of Hector’s classes before being interrupted by the headmaster. Lewis Cornay is innocent and endearing and stands out as the love-struck Posner. Cornay leads most of the singing and his heartfelt performances of ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’, ‘Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye’ and ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ deserve a special mention. Simply breathtaking. The other three boys are Crowther (Tashinga Bepete), Lockwood (Curtis Kemlo) and Aktar (Manesh Parmer) who each get opportunities to shine and add in charming moments to create a class that feels full of joy and testosterone.
The extremely talented cast, clever choreography, and use of music delivers a fresh, funny, and poignant take on Alan Bennett’s modern classic which makes you completely forget that this is, in fact, a very long play at about 2 and a half hours runtime. Even after 20 years, The History Boys’ themes, writing, and comedy are still relevant today, with the exception of the attitude towards Hector’s indiscretions that wouldn’t be tolerated for a second today. Whether your school days are long behind you or you are just starting your journey into adulthood, this show has something for everyone. Absolutely go and see it if you can.
